Chapter 48 -
"I can't take it!" One death eater said as he and his friends found themselves sitting around a table, bottles in one hand and wands in the other. "I can't keep looking over my shoulder every five minutes to see if Potter I here to kill us!"
"I know." Another death eater nodded in agreement. "I'm starting to think that the dark lord should've accepted Potter's offer. I mean it made sense, even if Potter was just a useless brat it is still one less person in our way."
"Yeah but he didn't want to act like a kid scared him." A third death eater spoke. "If he accepted then it would look like he was scared of Potter."
"What?! So our lives aren't worth his image?"
"Shut it! What if the dark lord finds out you've been saying those things?! He'd kill you!"
"But still, that's our choice now?! Be killed by the dark lord or be killed by Potter?!"
"We could kill Potter." Another suggested.
"Good luck with that." A voice said, their heads snapped in the direction of the voice and their eye widened when they saw a pair of green eyes looking down at them.
"Something must be done about this!" Dumbledore demanded as he sat in a meeting with Amelia Bones and Minister Fudge. "We cannot allow Mr Potter to do this."
"Dumbledore," Amelia Bones gave out a tired sigh. "I've checked the law several times, it is one of the oldest laws around. As old as the statue of secrecy, older in fact. If we remove this law, which we can't, then it opens up the possibility of removing over laws like the law that allows every magical child to own a wand and to attend school and even basic rights."
"But surely something could be done Amelia." Fudge frowned.
"I'm afraid not, besides I don't entirely believe it's in our best interest to do so."
"What do you mean?" Fudge asked.
"Think of it this way, Harry Potter is merely sixteen years of age and has only trained with Libra for a few years according to his story. We've seen how dangerous he is, we've seen how dangerous other members of Libra are. If we remove the law by some miracle then they might retaliate and I doubt we'd all be able to survive a full scale attack from them plus the death eaters."
"N...no," Fudge paled and shook his head. "no we cannot." He said as several memories came into his head, some from the fight at the quidditch world cup and some from the battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort plus Harry Potter killing Dolores. He did not want to imagine what would happen if an army of soldiers like him began attacking magical Britain.
"Besides, I think it's good that something is finally being done about the death eaters." Amelia added, shocking the other two men.
"But Amelia, you surely can't be supporting this!" Dumbledore said with disbelief.
"I don't like it but it's not breaking the law and it's finally dealing with problems that should've been dealt with years ago." Amelia answered. "The death eaters should've been dealt with before Potter was even born. But thanks to bribing," She briefly glanced at Fudge before continuing "limited aurors with limited power and the inability or unwillingness to do something the problem has gotten worse than it should have."
"But Amelia, the boy killed Dolores." Fudge protested.
"Dolores? I assume you are referring to Umbridge, the bigot who nobody besides you liked and happened to have a 'lovely' habit of selling children?" Amelia countered. "You will need to come up with something better than that. Nobody is mourning Umbridge, in fact if you paid attention then you would realise that most people actually liked the fact that she was gone.
"You can't be serious!" Fudge said with disbelief.
"Minister she was a cruel and vile woman but you didn't see that as he was working for you and in your interest, there was not a single person that liked her besides you and after her death I had received numerous reports from ministry workers that she had threatened, many of them muggleborn or half-blood and even some purebloods that supported muggleborns. I've lost count of how many people she has bribed and threatened and that's not counting all of her other illegal activities. Activities that I hope you didn't know about Minister." She said as she gave him a stern look.
"No, no." Fudge shook his head quickly. "I didn't!" Amelia gave him a look that clearly said she wasn't entirely sure if she should believe him.
"Madam Umbridge aside, Amelia we cannot support this." Dumbledore said.
"I am not supporting it, I am just not opposing it." Amelia said with a small shrug. "Legally Mr Potter is allowed to do what he is doing, and as long as he limits his killings to death eaters and scum like Umbridge then I find it difficult to care."
"Amelia, everyone deserves a second chance."
"Not in a war Dumbledore," Amelia replied in a cold voice. "your no-killing rule has no place in a time of war, if it wasn't for that then my brothers might still be alive and my niece might have still had her parents. If you cannot handle killing Dumbledore then stop being involved in a war. Your ideals, no matter how right or wrong, have no place in a time of war."
"I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree on that Amelia," Dumbledore replied, ignoring the similarities between Amelia's words and Harry's. "however yes Harry may be killing death eaters but what if he decides to move on to other people. You realise that he has the potential to be an even worse dark lord than Voldemort?"
"I understand what you're saying Dumbledore," Amelia responded. "the boy is powerful and dangerous, he's also an expert at killing. On one hand he could be a future dark lord, on the other hand there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. I've spoken to my niece who is in the same year as Potter and asked her what she knew about the boy, she said that the boy is smart and intelligent and unafraid of voicing his opinion. She also said that he for the most part wanted to be left alone and was content with simply spending time with his select few friends.
Doesn't sound like a future dark lord to me, if he was then the boy would've tried to build an army, he is currently on his own. I've also asked Nymphadora Tonks, who is the niece of Harry Potter's adopted mother and one of my best aurors, she says that Harry Potter just wants to be left alone and is not the sort to harm innocent people. And even if I am wrong, if Potter is the sort to just kill any and everyone in his way then I would advise staying out of the way.
I do not fancy agonising and going toe to toe with the teenager that can go spell to spell with Voldemort himself, he has only started attacking the death eaters after Voldemort had refused his offer for neutrality and kidnapped Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black. If I was you Minister Fudge then I would advise the ministry to stay out of Potter's way as well unless we want his ire directed at us. I would offer the same advice to you Dumbledore."
"I apologise Amelia, but I cannot simply stand aside and allow another dark wizard to rule this country through fear, intimidation and violence." Dumbledore stood up, deciding that there was nothing more to be gained from this meeting and walked towards the door.
"That stubborn fool." Amelia muttered once Dumbledore was gone.
"Delphi hurry up." Bellatrix shouted from the downstairs as she and Harry waited for Delphi.
"Coming." Delphi shouted as she came down the stairs, Sirius was behind her and levitated her school trunk down for her.
"So, your first year without me." Harry said.
"Yep," Delphi nodded, a little saddened by that. "at least you won't be there to force me to do homework." She added with a small grin.
"Delphi, if I have to take a break from killing death eaters just to come in to school to make sure that you're still not being an idiot then I will." Harry said with a warning tone.
"Got it." Delphi said with a mock salute. "Are you coming with me to the station?"
"Probably best I don't show up in person." Harry replied. "But I want to be there so I'll be coming in my animagus form."
"Alright, come on guys, it's time to go." Bellatrix said as she gesture towards the door that Sirius opened.
"Hi guys," Delphi said to the girls as she entered the train compartment, the girls turned to her but stopped when they saw that he not only had a raven on her left shoulder but also a falcon on her right shoulder.
"Delphi, did you steal Shadow and a Falcon?" Tracy asked.
"No, I would never steal Shadow, I do value my life after all." Delphi replied. "Do you recognise the bird?" She grinned as she pointed at the falcon.
"It's Harry." Daphne grinned as Harry and Shadow trilled in the affirmative.
"Yep." Delphi nodded. "He couldn't come for a couple of reasons."
"You mean like reasons other than the fact that pretty much all of magical Britain is afraid of him?" Fay asked with a small smile.
"Pretty much." Delphi nodded as she closed the compartment door and cast a few privacy charms to make sure that nobody would disrupt them. "You can turn back Harry." Harry nodded before dropping down on the floor and turning back into his human form. "What's up guys?" Harry asked before he was assaulted with hugs by Tracy, Fay and Daphne. "Okay, okay...let it out. Let it out."
"I thought you weren't coming back to Hogwarts." Fay said once they had let go.
"I'm not." Harry replied. "I just came to say hello."
"Aw, did we melt the cold Harry Potter's heart?" Daphne asked in a baby voice.
"Harry Potter will melt you in a sec." Harry threatened. "Anyway, I just came to tell you guys to contact me if you see or hear anything I might want to know and to call me if you guys need anything."
"Also because you missed us." Tracy grinned.
"I did not miss you."
"You totally missed us." Fay was also grinning.
"Whatever," Harry shook his head as he opened the window. "see you guys later."
"See you Harry." The girls all chorused with sad looks in their eyes.
"By the way girls," Harry said as he placed a foot on the window frame. "I do...care for you...don't tell anyone." He said before jumping out the window and transforming while Shadow followed after him.
"Knew it." All four girls said at the same time.
"We need a plan," Walden Macnir said as he and three of his fellow death eaters sat in the Hogsmeade pub called the Hogshead, fortunately it was deserted apart from them. "Potter is coming after us and right now he's the only one who can remotely challenge the dark lord."
"What about Dumbledore?" One death eater asked.
"Dumbledore?" Macnir snorted. "He's got the power and skill aye, but he's no match for our lord. Even if he was he won't do anything, Dumbledore's fine with the status quo but Potter's not. He's going to change things one way or another.
"But what can we do?" One female death eater asked. "If Potter can duel the dark lord and live then what chance have we got against him?"
"She's right," The fourth death eater in the group nodded. "we wouldn't dare duel the dark lord because we know that we wouldn't last more than a few minutes against him and it'd be a guaranteed death if the aim was to kill the other. Yet Potter, a boy who hasn't even finished growing was able to do it and I have no doubt that he's only gotten stronger since."
"Yeah but so has our lord," Macnir argued. "the only reason Potter did as well as he did against our lord in that graveyard was because the dark lord was still suffering from the effects of the ritual."
"What about the department of mysteries?"
"That duel was interrupted by Dumbledore, if it kept going then I am positive that the dark lord would have won."
"I doubt it." A voice interrupted.
The four death eaters turned to the source of the voice and jumped out of their seats in shock when they saw Harry Potter standing in front of them, wearing his mask and the same attire he wore in the battle of the department of mysteries.
Macnir was barely able to get his wand out by the time Harry got to the other two males with a cutting curse to the throat each, the female death eater shot a skin shredding curse at him but he dodged then deflected Macnir's bone breaker away, he ducked under the female death eater's stunner and blocked Macnir's eye popping curse. Harry cast a blinding light from his wand to distract the two, he then used a wind blast to throw a table on top of the female death eater.
Macnir was blasted off of his feet, he flew backwards and rolled over one table before landing on a chair which toppled backwards. He groaned as he pushed himself up so he could lean on his elbows, he looked up and saw Harry Potter fire a bone breaker at the skull of the other death eater, he then stomped on her head twice. Macnir got to his feet and pointed his wand at him only to have it sent flying out of his hands by a disarming spell. He was then brought to his knees by two piercing cures aimed at his legs.
"Y...you don't have to do this..." Macnir gasped out, as he looked at Harry with a pleading expression. "Just let me go, please!"
"Don't beg, if you ignore your victims begging then I don't understand why you think it'll work when you do it." Harry said as he walked towards him, he stopped in front of him and aimed his wand at Macnir's face.
"Please, I'll do anything!" Macnir begged.
"Anything?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"Yes! Yes! Anything!"
"Does that include making a magical oath to never work for Voldemort and to give yourself up to the ministry as fast as you an and confess your crimes?" Harry asked, he could see that Macnir was looking hesitant so he decided to speed his decision up by having his wand glow green.
"T...the dark lord...he...he would kill me."
"Not my problem."
"I'd be dead either way!" Macnir protested.
"Fine, let's just get it over with then, shall we?" Harry suggested, his wand glowing brighter.
"You...you won't!" Macnir said, trying a different tactic. "You...you need me! You need me for information and..."
"And you've forgotten that their are plenty of other death eaters with the exact same information as you." Harry cut him off. "I tried giving you an out, not my fault you didn't take it." Macnir was about to reply but was cut off as a killing curse hit him in the face.
"I have to clean that up now." A grumpy voice spoke, Harry slowly turned to the man standing behind the bar. Harry had barely noticed him come in when he was talking to Macnir but he did, it was a necessary requirement for him to always be aware of his surroundings. The man behind the bar was old, he had a bit of a big stomach but what interested Harry was his long white hair and beard which reminded Harry of one specific person.
"Are you a Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"The youngest brother." The man replied. "Aberforth Dumbledore's the name."
"Well I apologise for the mess but it's not like you can fix the place with magic, as for the bodies that's a job for the aurors isn't it?"
"I suppose." Aberforth conceded as he looked around. "You're talented for one so young. Are you going to try and kill me?" Aberforth turned back to Harry as he asked that.
"Are you a death eater?" Harry asked.
"No," Aberforth shook his head. "I've been called many things throughout my life, goat fucker and drunk included, but never death eater.
"Do you plan to give me a reason to kill you?"
"No I do not."
"Second to last question, have you ever made love to a goat in anyway or form?" Harry asked as he raised his wand.
"No, no I have not." Aberforth sighed. "I'm going to kill my brother for starting that rumour, what's the last question?"
"Can I have a fire whiskey?"
"Normally I'd say no since you're underage but if you can handle killing then you can handle fire whiskey." Aberforth said as he took out a glass.
"You can live." Harry said as he lowered his wand, he kindly lowered his wand and walked towards the bar. "And I'll have a butterbeer instead."
"You'd rather have a butterbeer instead of fire whiskey?" Aberforth asked as Harry removed his mask. "Have you never drank it before?"
"I don't drink." Harry shrugged.
"You don't drink?" Aberforth said with disbelief as he poured butterbeer into a cup. "You decapitate heads and kill people and rip out throats with no problems but you don't drink?"
"Alcohol isn't something I really see the point of. There are plenty of healthier drinks that are nowhere near as addictive or harmful, besides alcohol is known to affect the mind and I need mine to stay completely under my control."
"Why's that?" Aberforth asked as he handed Harry some butterbeer.
"I burn things if it's not." Harry answered before he cast some spell over the drink nd cup before putting his lips to the glass and drinking from it.
"Aye, I can see how that could be a problem." Aberforth said as he gave a small nod. "And you can relax, I'm not trying to poison you."
"Yes but your brother is an idiot so I'd rather not risk my health in trusting another Dumbledore," Harry said after he removed his mouth from the cup. "it's possible you've got what he's got."
"Nah," Aberforth shook his head slightly while Harry continued drinking. "my brother...he...he's up high, living with the gods. Me, I'm a simple barmen, living on the ground. Albus has the best of intentions but he doesn't see the world like other people, my brother sees the world in a black and white way. His way of seeing it is too simple."
"Is that you're way of saying he's an idiot?" Harry asked innocently as he took a break from drinking his butterbeer.
"Ha, yes it is." Aberforth chuckled. "He means well but he is an idiot. Though I don't suppose I need to tell you that, I remember reading about your opinion of him on the newspaper that came out after the goblet of fire selected the champions. It would've been perfect if you didn't insult me as well but I'm willing to let it slide because of how funny it was and the fact that we didn't even know each other then."
"Are you going to tell Dumbledore what's happened after I'm gone?" Harry asked.
"No need, he'll find out soon enough, one way or the other then he'll likely come down and double check by asking me himself seeing as I am his brother."
"Well..." Harry took a few moment to finish his drink. "this was nice," he said as he put his mask back on. "but I have to be off."
"Goodbye lad, just do us a favour and wait till they're out of my pub before you kill them next time."
"Fine," Harry nodded as he walked to the exit "by the way if I was you then I would tell your brother to stay out of my way, I can only leave him alive and ignore him for so long."